Open Culture/Introduction

You might have heard of Open Source, and perhaps you have heard about Mozilla Firefox, a new web browser, or of Linux, an alternative operating system to Windows; both attempt to challenge the mainstream software provided by the likes of Microsoft and, to a lesser extent, Apple. Open Source Software is not explicitly political - it has adherents across the political spectrum - but the method of development has led a number of theorists to suggest it is applicable to other areas of life. Moreover, it has the potential to change the way we work, govern ourselves and access the media.

This is a new area of study with an unstable lexicon, however, Lawrence Lessig - a professor at Stanford Law School, has dubbed the movement 'Free Culture', a term he borrowed from Richard Stallman's Free Software. Cooperation, Sharing, Global and Knowledge are its key concepts. In its most extreme (and idealistic) form, it is a system where everyone has a equal access to knowledge and information, where society would be free to live in a world of peace, discussion, tolerance, happiness, and understanding. Yes, this is the most idealistic view and we think that it is a goal that society should have. Even many of us claim that it is not possible, but we should strive for it.

This movement is spread through different subjects, the main ones of which are: